For those scoring at home, the US is fighting radical Islam in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but backing radical Islam in Egypt, Libya and Syria. Iraq is left for dead as a failed state. Thanks for playing Realpolitik.

OgreMagi:Mrtraveler01: OgreMagi: Mrtraveler01: Triumph: For those scoring at home, the US is fighting radical Islam in Afghanistan and Pakistan, but backing radical Islam in Egypt, Libya and Syria. Iraq is left for dead as a failed state. Thanks for playing Realpolitik.

But I thought we wanted to spread democracy in the Middle East. Did you guys just mean Democracy that agrees with your worldview?

Democracy isn't simply majority rule. A proper democracy has safeguards in place to protect all people, not just those who are part of the mainstream beliefs. The bastard they elected is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, who would have no issue with killing anyone who does not follow their brand of islam. The Copic Christians in Egypt are seriously farked.

Isn't this something the Egyptians should learn on their own?

If it didn't involve them killing a whole bunch of innocent people in the learning process, I'd say sure, go for it.

So what should we have done? Killed a bunch of innocent people to help prop up Mubarak in the name of democracy?

Bennie Crabtree:The USA was not a nice or peaceful country during the 20th century. Morsi's generation can't be blamed for some of the weirder or more reactionary politics they espouse. Certainly this will make the Suez an even more complicated region of international politics, but it's not surprising or anything.

As Egypt decided to ally itself with the US in the mid-1970s, the way their society interacted with ours created a corrupt military-government elite with vast wealth. I don't think either side can really be blamed for this, and it was in fact, mostly the result of "playing nice". The Sadat government promised prosperity through peace, and indeed America attempted and is attempting to help the Egyptians realize that. But problems with Egyptian society- the way they treat each other, raise their kids, and what they expect to get out of life, contribute to a moribund growth in productivity.

phreaknes:The military knows wheres it's toast is buttered. They took all the teeth out of the office of the president because of all the money the US, Saudi's and some in the EU floating their way. There not going to mess that up.

Yep. Like most countries the US gives 'aid' to (including Israel), we do it because that money just comes right back to us.

1. US gives billions in aid to a country.2. That country immediately turns around and buys weapons, tanks, gvns, planes, ammo, etc from US weapons makers3. US weapons makers profit!

This 'aid' is just a subsidy to the weapons manufacturers.

This is the same as the 'bailouts' that the EU has been giving to the PIIGS countries such as Greeece, Italy, and Spain: Germany/ECB gives them a big bag of cash and then they turn around and give that money right back to the German/French/British banks. Only a few cents on the dollar actually even reaches the people of the country that are actually being 'bailed out'.

Just a thought, but if had not been dicking around in the Middle East for the past 50 years by supporting oppressive regimes of convenience, perhaps radical islam would not look like as good of an option.

I seem to remember being told to shut up when I said that the Muslim Brotherhood was behind the Egyptian uprising, and that the end result of it would be a slide to toward another Islamic fundamentalist country.